Greinke leads Astros to 3-1 win; Rangers lose 12th straight
Zack Greinke threw six solid innings, Abraham Toro homered and the Houston Astros sent Texas to its 12th straight loss, beating the Rangers 3-1JULY 25, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISIAH KINER-FALEFA #7 - THIRD BASEMAN - PITTSBURGH PIRATES
8 HR •
43 RBI •
.269 AVG
8 HR
43 RBI
.269 AVG
Greinke scheduled to start for Houston against Texas
The Astros will roll out Zack Greinke to the mound Sunday and the Rangers plan to give Taylor Hearn the startJULY 25, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Astros lose combo no-hit try in 8th; Rangers' skid hits 11
Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen took a no-hit try into the eighth inning and Astros beat Texas 4-1, sending the Rangers to their season-worst 11th straight lossJULY 25, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Astros lose combined no-hit bid against Rangers in 8th
The Houston Astros lost their combined no-hit bid in the eighth when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to start the inning for the Texas RangersJULY 25, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Astros hand Rangers 10th straight loss with 7-3 victory
Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer in Houston’s big third inning to help the Astros hand the Texas Rangers their 10th straight loss with a 7-3 victoryJULY 24, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Drives in pair Kiner-Falefa went 1-for-5 with two RBI in Thursday's 7-5 loss to Detroit.
Impact Kiner-Falefa singled home a pair of runs in the sixth inning, just his third and fourth RBI over the last 26 games. He's been in a summer swoon, which has had manager Chris Woodward moving him up and down the order. He's back to leadoff again, but the struggles endure. Kiner-Falefa is slashing .157/.189/.186 with just two walks over his last 106 plate appearances.
JULY 23, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Haase, Tigers win 7th straight, finish sweep of Rangers
Eric Haase hit a three-run homer in the first inning and the Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to a season-best seven games by topping the slumping Texas Rangers 7-5JULY 22, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Day off Wednesday Kiner-Falefa isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Impact Kiner-Falefa started in each of the five games after the All-Star break, and he went 4-for-18 with a double and four strikeouts. Charlie Culberson will start at shortstop and bat eighth.
JULY 21, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Manning expected to start as Detroit hosts Texas
The Rangers will start Jordan Lyles on Wednesday and the Tigers are expected to counter with Matt ManningJULY 21, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Starts second half at leadoff Kiner-Falefa batted leadoff and went 1-for-5 in Friday's 10-2 loss to the Blue Jays.
Impact Kiner-Falefa entered the All-Star break in a slump, having just nine hits over 70 at-bats (.129), and had been dropped to the bottom of the order for a spell. Rangers manager Chris Woodward put him back at leadoff the weekend before the break, but the shortstop remains mired in a slump.
JULY 17, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Back in leadoff spot Kiner-Falefa is hitting leadoff Friday against Oakland.
Impact Kiner-Falefa has seen more time atop the lineup than any other Ranger this season, but he was dropped to the bottom of the lineup earlier this week in the midst of a 6-for-44 slump. He's still struggling at the dish -- he's logged just one hit in his last 19 at-bats -- but will move back to the top of the order Friday against southpaw Cole Irvin.
JULY 9, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Bats ninth, drives in two Kiner-Falefa batted ninth and went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Tuesday's 10-5 win over the Tigers.
Impact Kiner-Falefa began the day hitless in his last 11 at-bats, and the streak reached 12 before he plated two with a fourth-inning double. The slumping shortstop is batting .127 (7-for-55) over the last 14 games and his OPS is down to .668. That's part of the reason he was dropped to ninth in the order, the first time he's hit that low since July 31 of last season. It should be noted that Kiner-Falefa is entering uncharted territory in terms of plate appearances. He's made 367 trips to the plate this season, just 29 shy of the career high he set in 2018. Fatigue could be a factor, something that manager Chris Woodward mentioned when speaking with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "Anytime you are struggling, it wears on you mentally and physically. He's absolutely fatigued and there's nothing we can do about it. He's just got to push through," Woodward said. It's possible the manager gives Kiner-Falefa the day off Wednesday, which coupled with Thursday's off-day would give him a two-day respite.
JULY 7, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Dropped to eighth Kiner-Falefa batted eighth in the order and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Mariners.
Impact Kiner-Falefa, who has batted leadoff more than any other Ranger, was dropped to eighth amid a recent slump. The shortstop entered Sunday's contest batting .136 (6-for-44) over the last 10 games, so manager Chris Woodward moved him down the order to take some pressure off him, per Doug Drawley of the Dallas Morning News. Eli White batted leadoff Sunday.
JULY 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Gonzales expected to start for Seattle against Texas
The Mariners will send Marco Gonzales to the mound Saturday and the Rangers plan to give Jordan Lyles the startJULY 3, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gets day off Friday Kiner-Falefa is not starting Friday's game against the Mariners.
Impact The shortstop is omitted from the lineup for just the second time all season, and the first time since April 17. In his last nine games, Kiner-Falefa has hit .150 with one walk, two runs scored and zero RBI. Charlie Culberson gets the start at shortstop for the series opener.
JULY 2, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Provides two hits in loss Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-4 with two singles in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Athletics.
Impact The Rangers couldn't muster much offense against Oakland starter Chris Bassitt (seven shutout innings), but Kiner-Falefa at least did his part atop the batting order with a pair of base hits. Even so, manager Chris Woodward could soon consider a change atop the lineup, as Kiner-Falefa's productivity has largely fallen off since mid-June. Kiner-Falefa slashed .180/.206/.246 with one home run and no stolen bases over the Rangers' final 14 games of the month.
JULY 1, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Gallo homers again, Lyles strong as Rangers beat Royals 4-1
Joey Gallo homered again, Jordan Lyles pitched seven strong innings after getting bumped from the rotation for one start, and the Texas Rangers finished a three-game sweep with a 4...JUNE 27, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gibson 10 Ks, Gallo 2 HRs for Rangers in 8-0 win over Royals
Kyle Gibson had a season-high 10 strikeouts, Joey Gallo hit two massive home runs and the Texas Rangers have won consecutive games for the first time in more than a monthJUNE 26, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kansas City's Merrifield puts 10-game hit streak on the line against Rangers
Merrifield takes a 10-game hit streak into matchup with RangersJUNE 25, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
A's split with 5-1 win in Texas as Bassitt gets 8th W in row
Chris Bassitt has won eight decisions in a row for the Oakland AthleticsJUNE 24, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
'I don't think anybody's better than me': Isiah Kiner-Falefa is determined to stay at shortstop With the crop of star free-agent shortstops set to hit the market, Isiah Kiner-Falefa insists he's proved he belongs.
JUNE 22, 2021 • THEATHLETIC.COM
Two hits, two RBI Saturday Kiner-Falefa went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in Saturday's loss to the Twins.
Impact Kiner-Falefa was one of three players that recorded multi-hit games for Texas, but he caused a big impact on offense since he represented all the offense the team was able to muster with his two-run shot in the third inning off Randy Dobnak. The shortstop now has six homers on the season and has hit safely in all but one game this month, which translates to a .323 average across 65 at-bats in June.
JUNE 20, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
Twins take lead on consecutive wild pitches, top Rangers 3-2
Max Kepler scored the go-ahead run on a second consecutive wild pitch from Texas reliever John King in the seventh inning, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Rangers 3-2JUNE 19, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Greinke expected to start for the Astros against the Rangers
The Astros will send Zack Greinke to the mound Wednesday and the Rangers plan to give Jordan Lyles the startJUNE 16, 2021 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Being an All-Star afterthought fuels Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s fire, and Rangers will likely reap the benefits If the Rangers were looking for a little edge, they got the best news possible Monday. Somebody went and slighted Isiah Kiner-Falefa again....
JUNE 15, 2021 • DALLASNEWS.COM
